Brutuses, I'll try to answer this as an interested consumer. I am by no means a scientist, and I can't vouch for the veracity of the tests/reports quoted in the articles I've read and linked to. If you google this, you can find a lot of alarmist type reports, which I tried to sort through and not include here. I am a fan of natural and organic, just because it makes sense. I don't want to unnecessarily alarm anyone with this info, and urge you all to do your own research on this topic. Basically, the chemical that kept stains from adhering which was used in Scotchguard in until several years ago was found to contaminate human blood and wildlife. Over 90% of the population in the late'90's had the chemical in their blood (also used in Teflon, etc). Testing revealed it to be lethal in high doses to animals, however Scotchguard, Teflon, etc used much smaller doses. The new formula does not contain those chemicals, though it has been criticized for not working as well. Furthermore, the company hadn't revealed the test results for the current chemicals, though they will say that these new chemicals do not stay in the body as long as the old ones and that the new chemicals are safe. There is some uproar over why these chemicals do not have to be proven safe before they are used and just who is responsible, if anyone, for monitoring companies like the makers of Scotchguard. The EPA concluded around 2000 (? not sure of date) the chemical was toxic and was linked to birth defects. It is no longer used in Scotchguard. These chemicals are in carpet, clothes, etc and have entered the food chain to the point of being found in baby eagle's blood (who have never left the nest, thereby leading researchers to conclude that the chemical has entered the food chain). They are not sure yet HOW these chemicals enter our bloodstreams (water, air, etc). Given this info, I'm not sure how much impact it has to choose to not use these items in our homes. Clearly, there is so much we do not have control over and therefore can't impact through our choices. But for me, it makes sense to opt out of stain/water/oil repellants whenever possible. links: http://www.enviroblog.org/2007/06/ask_ewg_why_is_there_teflon_in.htm http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2005/02/toxictraces/ http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/02/22_edgerlym_3mscience/ http://www.ewg.org/reports/pfcworld/ http://www.protectingourhealth.org/press/2003/2003-0622-SJMN-scotchgard.htm Here is a link that might be useful: stain/water etc replellants

I love your wall colors. LOL I can only tell you what gives me inspiration on pulling colors, is fabric. I go to fabric web pages, especially the ones who have the fabric collections, and usually can get a sense of where I need to go with colors. Because of my simple decorating taste and limited knowledge, I find it easier to concentrate one two rooms at one time and not concentrate on the entire house at once. That's just way too confusing for me. Right now I'm concentrating on foyer/great room. When I finish making those fabric and furniture choices, I'll move on to the other roooms. All of my rooms are off of the great room and don't necessarily "match" the great room. I thought it important for the great room and foyer to "flow" since people will definitely be walking through the foyer into the great room. The bedrooms are similar in hue and I went with all muted colors so there are no "clashes" on your senses as you'd walk from one room to the other. However, the bedrooms and guest bath are all different and will be decorated according to their wall color. All the flooring is the same in all the rooms. With all your adjoining room colors flowing so well together it shouldn't be too difficult to find fabric that will incorporate all those colors and that could be your "jumping off" point, as they call it. One more thing, I would definitely cover the sofa because I think sofa's should be solid or look solid (squint your eyes) and if it looks solid, it's a keeper. Bring in print from other accessories, rugs, pillows, artwork. My great room is Rich Cream, which is a very pale yellow. I plan on a light colored fabric, i.e. beige or something close to that, for the sofa, and the accessories will have the green from the foyer and another 1 or 2 colors as accents. Still up in the air on that. I find if I take it in baby steps then I gain inspiration from the one item/thing I completed. I won't know what fabrics I'll want for chairs and curtains until I can see and feel my sofa. My decorating is based a lot of how the surroundings make me feel also. So maybe you might want to start with the sofa color and then see where that color leads your senses. Here's what inspired my foyer color that leads into my great room color. Don't tell my DH I sent out a photo of the mantle before it was complete. Eekkk!! He likes his "works of art" to be complete before the world sees them. LOL Good luck. My inspiration chicken!! Foyer wall and ceilling Great room

hi cottonpenny, he is my two cents worth: 1) i love the color palette you have selected the dark gray with white will look great with the rich wood table and hutch. i agree with you that you could modernize the chairs (helping to limit the overload of wood) - perhaps a coat of white paint and some new upholstery in a strip or damask that uses a gray and/or white along with your accent color (will you go yellow or blue?) 2) to help tie the modern color palette with the more traditional furniture pieces, i like the simple drum pendant chandelier options that people have been suggesting. using a simple textured fabric (in white) will be a sophisticated solution. just make sure it has a diffuser to stop glare. 3) on the "rules" for sizing i attach a link to a post on this issue (i get asked this a lot), but based on your numbers above the 46" table can take a 34" diameter fixture (the rule is table width less 12" total). remember this is just a starting point and as they say in pirates of the caribbean more of a "guideline"! i actually like bigger (for impact) but i would start there since here i think the fixture is more part of your overall cool scheme than the one wow moment. hope that helps... Here is a link that might be useful: dining room lighting tips

Thanks everyone! I guess it's back to the drawing board. Fwiw none of the side tables are necessarily staying, I wanted to start with the coffee table and then move on to finishing the rest of the room. It sounds like the consensus is a rectangle, and not as light as I'd been shooting for. @nosoccermom, the table we have has seen a decade of two boys. Much of the finish has been rubbed off the top. I don't mind it too much but it's one of the few things in the house my husband feels strongly about. I should just refinish it as @linelle suggests. But I have so many unfinished projects and so little time to do things like this (as opposed to seemingly unlimited time to procrastinate work by surfing the internet!) @olychick, you nailed part of my issue - any table that is equally useful when sitting on either sofa would take up too much space in the room. I'd thought about bunching tables or something like @jlc712 posted, but I wondered if I'd drive myself nuts trying to re-align them every 10 minutes after my kids drag them about the room. @Beverly, rattan + kids is a bad combination, unfortunately. I like some of the first tables you posted, but my husband nixed ones that look rustic-y. Maybe something like the first table @starnold posted? I really like the oval, and the color seems like it could work with the dark brown sofas. I'm sure part of my problem is that I'm just so used to the light table; I need to try out something darker to get over that hangup. Thanks everyone!